The Crips Book of Knowledge

After moving to Florida in 1996, I attended middle school in the projects for a year until I was jumped by 3 youths and transferred to the white school in the suburbs.

At this school, I met “Crasper” – AKA Adam – Crasper was an average-looking 13 year old white boy with freckles and he was obsessed with the Crips street gang.

He was otherwise a totally normal kid, very friendly, quiet, intelligent, seemed to make good grades – but his dream was to be in this gang. He would tell me about his fantasies of being a part of the legendary gang, listened to rap music, drew gang symbols all over his school work, and most importantly – Crasper spent time in class studying and memorizing the “Crip Book of Knowledge.”

Crasper’s Book of Knowledge was a 25-page document he had printed from the school library and inserted into a binder with plastic page protectors, adorned with gang symbols he had drawn in sharpie on it. It contained purportedly detailed inside knowledge of the mysterious, complex symbols, codes, and oaths of the Crips, that must be memorized in its entirety by hopeful Crip recruits. According to Crasper, crips would be greeted with a cryptic phrase and if he didn’t know the appropriate response he would be identified as a fake, or worse, an infiltrator from a rival gang. So he set about memorizing the hundreds of codes, phrases, and symbols with determination…

15 years later, I looked up this “knowledge” to see what it really was:

The confusion of Crips representing the Folks Nation alliance started on the internet with unknown persons creating various fictional “Crip Books of Knowledge” which consist of mixing Crip history and Gangster Disciple history, symbols, and literature (lit) together to form fictional “Crip Books of Knowledge”. These fictional “Crip Books of Knowledge” spread rapidly throughout the internet in the 90’s and eventually into the streets. This misrepresentation of the Crips has largely affected Crips throughout the south and parts of the mid-west. This widespread miseducation of the Crips has lead to a recent major outreach by west coast Crips to all Crips across the country to let them know that Crips do not represent the Folks Nation of Chicago and do not represent the Gangster Disciples 6 point star and lit.

The 6-point star they’re referring to was often drawn on Crasper’s…well, everything. Here’s his signature in my yearbook. Note the 6-point star and the large B with a K inside (stands for blood killer) as well as his spelling of the word kick as “kicc” – this of course is to avoid the letters C and K being next to each other as they stand for “Crip Killer.”:

Needless to say, I think my young friend was something of a poser. I wonder how well his fascination with crips would have gone over at the first school I attended in the area. He may not have been as lucky as even I was to have just been beaten by 3 kids…

R1Chk R0LL1N 90z N4kY60Rhk90dk CR1p 94kN9
IN 69, CRIP WAS STARTED. WE STAND STRONG FROM FROM DA NORTH, TO DA SOUTH, EAST TO DA WEST, TO MY NEST, I PROMISE I WILL DO MY BEST. I WILL NEVER DENIE,ALWAYS RIDE. TO I LAY, IN MY NEST, BUT TILL THEN KING DAVID WILL HAVE MY BEST. IM A GANGXTA NOW TURNING BACC, KISS MY FLAG CUZ I LOVE MY RAG, GRAUD MY CEEDS TIL I BLEED, IF I SHOULD DIE, PLEASE DONT CRY. TAKE MY FLAG N USE IT TO RIDE, NEVA SET TRIP. ALWAYS C-RIP. LOVE MY FOLKS N MY LOCS. TIL I DIE, C’Z UP HIGH

When i die show meeh No pity
Bury me deep in Gangsta City
Place 2 guages at my sides
A 6pt across my chest
My golden crown apon my head
My flag around my right wrist
a black one over my eyes
and a slob’s blood at my feet
Tell hoover I did my best
Tell David to led my way
and jacob to open tha door
Sheba to show purity wit a single tear
I’m gonna stacc’em like Peter Paul, by stacc’in high an tall
If you aint a CRIP dont try and stacc at all

they ceep on fightin c wit dey evilness, cuzz de will not eva win, triumph is 4 all warriorz of God, that waz, “c” life that didn’t have my name on the post, it sayz anonymous december, 30 2013 @ 6:29am, on my c day cuzz, all glory 2, God, cuzz 4ever!!!!!!!

Father of c life, will, c don, not mine, my other name iz, brandon leve”t mcgary, my last name went bacc 2 my original last name, from whitt, 2, mcgary, glory 2 The Most High God, cuzz, Crip, 4ever, clecce!!!!!!!!

Father of c life, will, c don, not mine, cuzz, the 8ball gangsta book of knowledge iz real cuzz, the Holy Bible haz ceen around cince the ceginning of time, for instance, in the bkeginning, Crip, also cnown az God, created the heavenz, & the earth, so, who ever cay the 8ball book of knowledge is made up they can c me cuzz, “c” life will show dem devils who my, Abba iz, cuzz, my Creator, the Creator of all, the Ruler of all, the Crip, or God of the living!!!!!!!! just my infiniteinfinite OG, God of israel sorting out cearthin the earth 4, Hiz true chilsd, & friends, thethe Holy Bible iz real, i go 2

520 0 va a ser IP to the day that I die Hoover crip into the world stop hoova groovin to the world stop movin a trace 7 who game crib oovoo criminal gangs Trey 14 for my crib nations you wanna f*** with me the f*** what the f*** what the slob and don’t f*** with me this is BK all day pkkk 3 K’s my way I’m a killer all the way the to 103 grape Street 52 Hoover Street I come from 5200 Regional that’s me I’m from Texas and Abilene. come from Abilene Texas to the day that I die on the f**c would I lie I got six point stars all over me just at a respectable follow no star I followed the third world because I’m A f**c that Queen Shelby bitch I hate that bitch f****** 8 ball crap the f****** a ball on the pool table 2 and f*** rollin 60s is there some sissy ass n***** to in this is ace whiteboy what do you know about some fathers who rip and s*** oovoo grooving to the world stop movin community revolution In progress honor only Our violent assassin if that’s love life loYa little wisdom knowledge understanding all of the understanding type s*** n**** f*** with your boy